'New' JRR Tolkien book The Fall of Gondolin to be published in 2018

The book was edited by his son Christopher

Details from 'The Fall of Gondolin's' cover. Credit: HarperCollins (Details from 'The Fall of Gondolin's' cover. Credit: HarperCollins)

JRR Tolkien's 'new' book The Fall of Gondolin will be published in August 2018.

The story depicts an enigmatic city ruined by darkness, described by Tolkien as "the first real story" of Middle-earth.

The Fall of Gondolin is the second "new" work from the author to come out in two years.

The last story that was released was Beren and Lúthien in May 2017.

The Guardian reports that Tolkien's latest work was "edited by his son Christopher and illustrated by The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings artist Alan Lee."

The book's release was surprising to Tolkien scholars as Christopher had previously said Beren and Lúthien was "(presumptively) my last book in the long series of editions of my father’s writings."

According to Tolkien and the Great War author John Garth, The Fall of Gondolin was written right after the Battle of the Somme during the Tolkien's hospital stay.

"It’s a quest story with a reluctant hero who turns into a genuine hero – it’s a template for everything Tolkien wrote afterwards," he said. "It has a dark lord, our first encounter with orcs and Balrogs – it’s really Tolkien limbering up for what he would be doing later."

He added that Tolkien's latest work is the "biggest battle narrative outside of The Lord of the Rings."

HarperCollins said that the book creates the "uttermost evil" of Morgorth battling the sea-god Ulmo.

The story follows the journey of Tuor who is on a quest to find the hidden city of Gondolin.

It is during his journey that he experiences "one of the most arresting moments in the history of Middle-earth" as Ulmo ascends from the ocean in a storm.

When Tuor comes to Gondolin, he becomes a father to Eärendel - a character from Tolkein's The Silmarillion.

But he ends up having to flee the city with his wife and child.

HarperCollins said, "They were journeying into a new story, the Tale of Eärendel, which Tolkien never wrote, but which is sketched out in this book from other sources."

The Fall of Gondolin, according to HarperCollins, was seen as one of Tolkien's "three great tales" of his older years alongside Beren and Lúthien and The Children of Húrin.